Peace at Last
by Xx-Feather-xX
Summary: When XANA launches a new attack, could it be the end for Feather and Odd?  Note: This is a compilation of 5 parts of a story. 6 and 7 were accidentally deleted  whoops!


The Last Struggle

Odd had never encountered something so hard to get though. Sure, he'd fought monsters in a virtual world called Lyoko, and sure, he'd nearly died multiple times, but watching his mate suffering from the virus XANA had implanted in her was one of the most difficult things yet. Feather was fighting for her life, and he couldn't do anything to save her.

Odd fought the urge to sob as he watched more and more cuts appear almost mysteriously across her naked body. Blood dribbled from the many already lacing her pale skin. The thin blanket that covered her was already stained with her blood. He tried to ignore her shallow, rapid breathing and stared into her amber eyes, praying for some kind of reassurance from her that she was getting better. All he could see was despair. He was well aware of the tears streaming down his cheeks and he didn't care. Odd Della Robbia sniffled as he got out of his chair and left the room they'd shared for nearly a year. He walked slowly down the hall and found his human friends scattered around the cabin living room.

"She's dying," he said after a moment. His voice was cracked.

Ulrich glanced up. "We knew that."

"How bad is it now?" Yumi asked. "Is she in a lot of pain?"

"Yeah. She's in real bad shape," he murmured.

"I'm so sorry, Odd." Aelita said softly as she stood from her place on the couch and placed an emphatic hand on his shoulder.

Odd gazed into the girl's green eyes and smiled weakly. She'd always been one of his closest friends and he found her presence alone reassuring.

"So what are we going to do?" Jeremie asked quietly.

"What can we do? Our best warrior is bleeding her life out as we speak. But no, we won't need her. We're just fine without her. Besides, doesn't Odd still have that Sam girl he's nuts about still?" Ulrich said.

"Shut up," Odd said softly.

Ulrich didn't. "Maybe we can freeze her remains and eat 'em for dinner because I can't think of anything we can do that will keep her from turning into hamburger meat-"

"Ulrich." Yumi said warningly.

Odd knew Ulrich was right. Feather was going to die from this, and chances were good that even with the number of lives she had left, she wouldn't be coming back. He choked back a sob and sat down in a chair. Hot tears ran down his face and he didn't stop them.

"I can't lose her again." he managed to say.

Aelita sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. "Its okay. We'll find a way to save her."

"Is that even possible?" he muttered.

"There might be a way." Jeremie said suddenly after getting that look he got when he was thinking. "She contracted the virus in Lyoko. There's a chance I can remove it in Lyoko too."

"But she's losing strength fast. She probably won't even make it to the factory..." Yumi trailed off. "I'm going to go see her."

Odd nodded and got up to follow his friend. Aelita and Jeremie came after, then Ulrich after a short hesitation. When Yumi opened the door she paused at the sight of the blood-covered Feather lying on the bed. Odd only passed her and sat down by his mate.

"Oh, Feather...why does everything need to happen to you?" he murmured softly.

Feather's amber eyes were losing their fighting glow. As much as they hated to admit it, Odd and Feather both knew that her body was giving up on her slowly and that her determination to keep on fighting for her survival grew slim.

"Oh, god. She's so much worse than I thought..." Jeremie said softly.

Feather reached out her hand towards Odd and he took it even as more incisions were made across her skin by an invisible scalpel. "It hurts..."

"I know it does, baby...I know." Odd replied, raising her fingers to his forehead along with his own and sobbing silently.

"Is she even strong enough to come..?" Ulrich asked slowly as he entered after Aelita and Jeremie.

No one spoke for a long time and the only sound was Feather's weak, shallow breaths. Odd stroked her hand gently.

"Feather," Odd murmured in her ear, "You need to be strong for me now. Real strong. There's a way we can fix this."

Feather gazed into his eyes and he could see the last flames in her eyes simmer to coals. She was giving up. "I ain't strong...not no more..." she whispered. "its too late for me."

"No it isn't. You're still strong. You're the strongest person I've ever met. You can do this." he pleaded. Somewhere behind him Aelita began to cry.

"I'm so tired, Odd..." she murmured. Her voice was weak. "Just let me sleep..."

Feather began to drift away. Blood stained her skin and her beautiful face as the cuts grew. Her skin on her cheek had split and now a fine scarlet river oozed from it. Blood loss was taking its toll and Odd knew she was almost out of time.

"Feather?" He asked. His beloved mate gave no response except for her fading respiration.

"Feather!" he cried again. Still no reply.

"Oh god...is she...?" Yumi asked slowly.

"No, but she will be. Jeremie, we need to get to the factory. She's already fading." he said.

Jeremie nodded and Odd scooped Feather up in his arms. She felt cold to the touch. "Yumi, we need anoher blanket."

Within seconds a thick quilt was lain over the unconscious Shifter and Odd carried her out the door of the cabin and into the sunlight of the woods. Ulrich lead the way to the manhole and lifted the round iron lid onto the surrounding grass. Odd, still carrying Feather, leapt down it and landed neatly on the sidewalk edging the sewer water. He bolted in the direction of the factory and the others followed him on their scooters and skateboards. In his arms, his mate slipped into shock.

"How's she doin'?" Ulrich called out.

"We're running out of time!" he replied without looking back.

Moments later Odd and his human friends came to a stop at their destination. The others climbed the ladder and out of the sewer system; Odd scaled the thing in one jump and lead the way to the factory ahead.

"Come on, honey, you just gotta hang on a little longer." he murmured to his beloved as he ran.

The others slid onto the main floor of the factory via some cables that hung from the ceiling. Odd sprouted wings (One of the merits of being a shapeshifter was that you didn't have to be a bird to have wings sometimes) and flew down. Once in the elevator, he had a chance to look at Feather's condition.

"She okay?" Yumi asked.

Odd just stared at the love of his life dying in his arms. Her eyelids hung half open but her pupils had shrunk to pinpricks and her skin had nearly become white as marble. Her breathing was virtually nonexistent.

"Oh no..." he gasped. "Please, Feather. Stay with me. You can't die yet. Not now, 'cause you aren't gonna come back from this. You can't come back. XANA's made sure of it."

The doors to the elevator opened on the Lab and Jeremie sprung out and took his seat at the interface. With a metallic _clang_ the doors shut again and they went lower to the scanner room.

And then it happened.

Feather's breathing ceased the moment the doors opened on her only lifeline.

"No! Please, gods, no!" Odd screamed as he fell to his knees in despair. "Not her! Anyone but her!"

His mind couldn't quite comprehend that the love of his life had died in his arms. He couldn't let himself believe it, yet her empty, half closed eyes staring at the ceiling of the elevator should have been proof enough. Those had been the eyes that had caused him to fall in love with her two years ago.

Yumi grabbed Odd's shoulder. "We've still got time before her brain shuts down. There's a chance we can save her still!"

Heartbroken, Odd got to his feet and carried his mate the last five yards towards the scanner.

Feather had died several times before. 58 lives had always served her well and she always had woken up fresh and unharmed. Every time she crossed over it was like she was dozing, as if part of her was still on Earth and was still hearing the world around her. Somehow she felt comforted on her way out, ready to be taken into the arms of another world.

In a way, death was a break from a long, long journey.

As Feather lay in Odd's arms she felt it sweeping her body, a feeling of rest and warmth. She knew her time was ending. And she was ready to be embraced by a new world. She was letting go of her grip on life; it was a strange sensation, like if one was holding onto a pencil or a pole hard and suddenly released it.

Her eyes flickered about as she saw the old world mixed with that of another, more peaceful one. Beams of light shone on the orange and red leaves that carpeted the floor of a clearing in an autumn wood, slowly replacing the images of a sewer tunnel where she remained physically and where each breath strengthened reality for only a moment. Ahead of her in the clearing stood millions of Shifters parted in the middle to create a path, all gazing at her with multicolored eyes. The sensation of her bare feet on the leaves welcomed her and she stepped forwards. The spirits watched her and welcomed her.

"We're running out of time!" Odd's voice echoed from another land.

Feather took another step forward. She wore a white dress that showed her arms and drifted in the breeze around her knees. Another step and scars faded from her skin, which was smooth and soft. The young female padded forward and scanned the faces that watched her every move. The sewer tunnels faded from her comprehension while she moved forward and slipped away from that reality.

"Come on, honey, you just gotta hang on a little longer." Odd's voice cried quietly in the breeze.

Feather could see her daughter Ulricha standing among the spirits. The fine young female gazed at her mother with purple flecked eyes that had once echoed with the pain of her chosen alignment and now held a look of peace and forgiveness. Her face was devoid of the scar that once traced along her cheek, and she smiled at Feather. The mother smiled back and forgave the child that had betrayed her once.

Faces around her became familiar as soldiers from the wars fought on XANA's side, the ones that had fallen and hadn't returned. Their expressions were inviting and their eyes glowed with recognition. Feather's best friend Cricket stood amongst them in a white dress that went down to her toes. The millennia-aged Shifter gave the younger female a warm grin and it was returned with enthusiasm.

"Oh no..." Odd's voice murmured on the wind, "Please, Feather. Stay with me. You can't die yet. Not now, 'cause you aren't gonna come back from this. You can't come back. XANA's made sure of it."

Feather slowly turned and whispered to the trees, "Its time to let go."

Feather's golden hair drifted in the breeze as she padded down the autumn path carved by fallen comrades. At the end of the path there was a bright light that shone from a pair of gates made of pure gold. She became strong again as she neared the end. Comfort spread through the body limp in Odd's arms, the arms that had saved her life so many times before.

The elevator doors opened. Feather walked closer to the gates, her white dress floating on a breeze around her legs. She neared them and scars disappeared from her body, imperfections reperfected.

Elevator doors closed with a metallic clang. Feather smiled wistfully at the leaves under her bare feet when they didn't crunch when she walked on them. Strength and grace were restored to her. A breath of wind picked up and carried strands of her hair, caressed her arms and face. She could not shake the feeling that she was coming home for the first time in a very long time, nor did she even want to.

Closer and Feather reached out a hand toward those great golden gates and the light behind them subsided. Her fingertips glanced the surface of them and down on Earth her breathing faded into nothing.

"No! Please, gods, no!" Odd's voice said on the wind, "Not her! Anyone but her!"

"Time to let go," Feather murmured as she stroked the gold gates. They were warm to the touch.

A feeling of comfort swept Feather's body. She felt as though she were coming to the end of a long, long journey. Her palms touched the gates and she pulled herself closer to them. Her reflection in the surface of the gates was that of a young brown haired pioneer girl, then that of a pretty move star from the 1950's. Finally it became her physical form, the form she'd left behind.

The form she'd never need again.

Yumi's voice emerged from the air. "We've still got time before her brain shuts down. There's a chance we can save her still!"

But Feather already felt saved. She smiled at her reflection in the gate, the being she had been for so many decades. Her 157 years on Earth had brought her on a journey, and she knew journeys always came to an end. Now she was going to retire to peace, and she'd never felt so ready in her entire existence.

"Let go," she whispered to the air.

Feather barely pressed against the gates and they swung open slowly. Joy overwhelmed her when a bright light engulfed her as it did, and she put forward her bare foot to cross over to the new world, to her future. To forgiveness.

And then there was peace.

Odd didn't pause to contemplate that Lyoko was where he'd met Feather Pandora Shade. He didn't have to. The desert sector had always been a place of happy memories for him and he always thought about that day when he was virtualized onto this particular part of Lyoko. He could remember the lakes of gold that churned in Feather's eyes. He could remember her exact battle moves she'd used against Ulrich when she'd thought he was a soldier of XANA. He could remember saving her life when Ulrich had stabbed her. He could remember their first kiss here on Lyoko.

He couldn't imagine watching her leave his life in the same place she'd come into it.

Odd dropped from fifteen feet to the dusty ground of the Lyoko region, his feet sending up a slight puff of sand. His eyes were on Feather, who lay ten feet from his left.

Feather's appearance had changed greatly, as it normally did. Her golden hair was in a bun and perched atop her head were two fully functional tigress ears. A pair of great black raven wings had sprouted from her shoulder blades but instead of being erect and fully operational they were spread out behind her in a heap of feathers. A cheetah tail separated from her spine and grew out her lower back, but it wasn't even twitching like it should have been. Cuts laced her skin and blood crusted on each one. Like all Shifters, Feather and Odd were mortal in Lyoko—they could not be devirtualized but instead they could die and they could bleed.

Odd fell to his knees beside Feather and swept her limp body into his arms. Had she been breathing, he would have assumed she was asleep.

"Odd? Is everything okay?" Jeremie asked after a second.

"We were too late. She's gone." Odd choked out as he gazed into his mate's relaxed face.

Tears ran from his eyes and rolled down his cheeks as he held Feather close for what he knew would ultimately be his last moment with her. Sobs came in full force and he let them loose. The loss tore a hole in him that could never be filled by any other soul.

"I'll remove the virus," Jeremie said. "...you know, make her look strong again. Something dignified."

Odd found he couldn't say much to that except for "Thank you."

Ulrich, Yumi and Aelita came up behind Odd and looked on with tears welling in their own eyes. Yumi hugged Aelita, the latter of whom was sobbing as well. Ulrich's hand fell on Odd's shoulder as the katana warrior knelt beside his friend.

"She was lucky to have you as her mate, Odd. She really was." Ulrich said, though it was no solace to his friend.

Odd brushed strands of hair out of Feather's pale face and kissed her forehead. "I promised her I'd never let her suffer like this. I promised her I'd never let her die."

"You did what you could." Ulrich replied. "She knew you tried."

Jeremie's voice cracked when he said, "Its never going to be the same, is it?"

Odd shook his head, not caring that Jeremie couldn't see. He gazed into Feather's peaceful expression and could only feel pain as he realized his nightmares had come true. XANA had taken a life. And that life had been the one life he'd die to protect.

He'd never feel her presence again, nor would he be able to hold her in his arms. The pain of that knowledge wounded him at the core. Odd sobbed into Feather's dull hair, heartbroken.

Moments passed as the whole of Team Lyoko took in the details of what they'd lost. Their faith in themselves had been shaken to the center. The war they'd waged against XANA had cost them their best friend, their best warrior, and a part of their family. And they couldn't have done anything to prevent it.

"Why couldn't it have been me?" Odd cried. "It shouldn't have taken her, it should have taken me."

Very suddenly Odd's wish had the possibility of coming true.

Something slammed into Odd's body at a very high speed. The force of the impact sent him flying backwards and his back crashed against a cinnamon-colored rock.

"Odd!" Yumi shouted in surprise.

Three tarantulas came charging at them, one of which that had fired the lazer that had knocked Odd back. What happened next happened fast.

When Odd had been struck by the lazer blood splattered from where it hit his shoulder. That blood had entered one of Feather's larger cuts, causing something of a miracle to take place. Odd didn't know it but he had Healer's blood, a rare type of genetic mishap that happened only three or four times out of a million. When his blood entered Feather's cut, it triggered a reaction from her remaining active cells. Her wounds began to heal. Her bones created fresh blood cells at an almost impossible rate to make up for the ones she'd lost. Her heart began to beat once more and her chest rose and fell with new breaths.

Feather Pandora Shade fought to pass the veil of death into life once more.

And the tides were turned in that fight.

Feather didn't know what happened. One moment she'd gone to the afterlife for what should have been forever and the next she was laying on sand. The warrior recognized the dry scent of the desert region almost instantly. Light filtered through her eyelids and cast a red glow on what she could see, which was, admittedly, not very much.

Slowly Feather opened her amber eyes and she could see that old blood on her skin was crusted around gash-shaped stencil marks. She could remember the past few days of agony as her body suffered mysterious incisions. She could remember being in so much pain that she welcomed death for the second time in her life. But she had no idea how she had gotten here. It was vaguely similar to having a hangover and waking up someplace strange.

Feather moaned and stiffly sat upright. She glanced about her and took in the situation with irritating ease. Not so much because it was easy to figure out, more because she'd woken up to situations like these so often she came to expect it more often than not.

Yumi, Ulrich and Aelita stood ready to battle three tarantulas that were charging them. Behind Feather Odd lay slumped against a sharp rock with his shoulder bleeding profusely. Feather knew what she had to do.

The warrior stiffly got to her feet and rolled her neck about her shoulders till it cracked, then flexed her shoulders. She had no idea what had happened or how this situation had come to be, but she didn't need to know that to begin ass kicking.

And Feather Pandora Shade really wanted to start ass kicking.

"Feather...?" Jeremie said from somewhere above.

"Geez, I leave you guys alone for five minutes and all hell breaks loose." She said calmly as she cracked her knuckles.

The heads belonging to Ulrich, Yumi and Aelita all whipped around and stared at her with huge eyes. "You're ALIVE?"

"No, I'm dead. I'm just having an out-of-body experience." Feather said to them sarcastically. "What do you think?"

Three jaws dropped. Three tarantulas paused and at the sight of Feather, gave a screech of anger. Wait...that wasn't anger...that was a Summoning Roar...

If Feather's memory served correctly, and it always did, Summoning Roars summoned very bad things.

"Well, this is gonna get rough." Feather muttered.

About a mile away Feather heard the sounds of scurrying, thudding and dragging as XANA sent forth an army of his monsters. They would come in waves. They'd send the ones that flew first to weaken the opposition. Then they'd send in the Kankrelats, the little targets, to swarm in and overrun the opposition. And then came the bigger stuff to wipe out the opposition.

Unfortunately, the opposition was Feather and her friends.

Fortunately, her friends had Feather.

"What is that...?" Ulrich asked slowly.

"That's the sound of a good time." Feather replied cheerfully.

Jeremie piped up. "Please, please tell me you're at full strength, Feather. We could use your ancestors right about now."

"What do we need them for?"

"About 500 of XANA's cronies led by Riot."

"Didn't I kill him last week?"

"You killed a lot of things last week."

Feather gave an irritated sigh and glanced behind her at Odd, who sprawled on his side in the dust. She jogged towards the rock under which he lay. The scent of his blood caught in her throat and made her feel sick. She knelt beside him.

"Odd? Can you hear me?" She asked.

No response.

"Baby? C'mon, you gotta get up. We gotta go," Feather begged, grabbing Odd's limp shoulders and shaking them. The purple Lyoko Warrior didn't respond.

"Wake up," she murmured. "Please wake up."

Feather bowed her head, whimpering. He was hurt bad. She glanced up at the sharp point of the rock he'd hit. Fresh blood dribbled from the tip.

Fear stronger than ever, she kissed Odd's forehead. "Its okay, baby. Just rest now. Just rest."

She wiped a tear from her cheek and turned around. Ulrich was suddenly there, his eyes wide with fear.

"Um. You do realize we've got an army of monsters heading for us, you died and then got better and now your lover is taking a dirtnap with baby Jesus?" he asked.

"Yup," Feather said. She clapped him on the shoulder. "You're only scared 'cause you don't know how to use your pointy Pixie Stick."

"Its not a Pixie Stick. Its a sword." Ulrich replied bitterly.

"No, moron. Its a katana," she said. "And you stab with it too much. Katanas are more for cutting."

"Well then you try killing Riot by slicing at him," he snapped.

Feather felt a hand clasp her shoulder from behind and recognized Riot's scent. Naturally, she grinned. She was prone to self destructive tendencies sometimes.

"Good fighter, that one." she jeered before whipping around and punching her assailant in the face.

There was a satisfying 'CRUNCH!' as her fist connected with the rapist's face. The British mercenary stumbled back, clutching his nose. She smiled at Riot gleefully as scarlet dribbled from his less crooked nose.

"Well. You must fancy yourself some kind of a stalker, huh?" she asked.

Riot glared up at her. "I thought you valued a fair fight."

"I do. You just brought fewer grunts this time, thus making it impossible for me to bring my values into this and whoop your ass at the same time." Feather snapped. "It really wasn't my fault this time."

"Bitch," Riot growled.

"Ass." Feather said.

Feather was good at letting people know what she liked and disliked. If she liked a male Shifter, she'd mate with him. If she disliked a male Shifter, she'd walk away. If she hated Riot, she'd beat the crap out of him and walk away grinning like an idiot. She really hated Riot. In fact, she didn't even want to kill him. She wanted him to feel the pain he'd caused her for six straight months when he'd held her captive.

She was angry at him. And she was bad at hiding her anger.

As Riot straightened and faced her, she felt that anger rising once more. She vented that anger by taking a swing at him again. He ducked.

"Oh, I love it when you fight me. Its so cute." he teased. "It makes me just want to tear your clothes off all over again."

That made Feather angrier. Oh, so much angrier. She threw punches, Riot doged them. Behind them, XANA's army ventured ever nearer.

"Take Odd and run! I'll take him!" she cried to her friends.

"But he'll kill you!" Yumi exclaimed.

"That's old news! Get him and go!" Feather howled as she blocked Riot's advance. 'And may the Gods protect you.' she added silently.

Feather delivered a roundhouse kick to her opponent but he danced out of its range with ease. She punched at him but he was ready every time. He knew her techniques. And then he applied some of his own.

"What can that mate of yours give you?" Riot taunted. "He's only in it for the banging. You know it."

The young warrior fought back a snarl and lunged for another attack. Riot dodged with ease and only infuriated her further. Around them the monsters streamed for the Lyoko Warriors and left Feather alone to fight her enemy.

"Did you really think he could love you?" the male went on, "A savage beast? No, pet. I am the only one who can fully understand your ways, who you are."

Feather flew into a blind rage. She wanted nothing more than to inflict pain on this bastard, the one who had violated her and destroyed her. She fought thoughtlessly, using every move she knew against him. But he seemed to know her next attack every time.

"You're destined to be a feared warrior, Feather," Riot snarled. "Don't pick the wrong side."

"Good thing I haven't." Feather snapped.

The bastard had the nerve to laugh at her. "You really think you're fighting for honor?"

"I know it." she replied.

"What you're fighting for is a world that's already collapsing on itself," he said as he avoided another punch. "You're losing yourself for a couple of humans, Feather. You've sunk so low. I even made you beg for death once."

Feather flung herself forward—in one fluid moment Riot had grabbed her by the waist, then slammed her into the ground. He picked her up again and rammed her against the rock Odd had hit earlier.

"I can do it again," he murmured in her ear. "You're weak when you're angry. You're always weak. You lose control, forget what I taught you."

Feather struggled against his grip with all her strength. He grabbed her wrists and pinned her against the side of the rock. His blood red eyes were alight with lust.

"You're fighting a war you've already lost," he said. "Come home, Feather. Come where you can really be loved."

Suddenly images flashed before Feather's eyes. Memories of Riot pinning her to a hard floor and having his way with her. Terror flooded her body and she fought as hard as she could to escape. She was desperate. Her opponent only laughed.

"You're a slave to morality, Feather." he whispered in her ear. "You don't have to fear XANA anymore."

Riot leaned against her, pinning her against the rock with his wieght. He smiled evilly.

"Besides, I've always loved you." he said softly as he kised her neck.

It was too much. Feather headbutted her enemy so hard there was a crack. Riot groaned and fell backwards. She herself slumped down the rock and curled up at its base, reliving memories that caused her emotional agony. Anger burned inside her like a flame bursting into wildfire. The pain of her past mistakes came back and she let out a long howl of despair. She wailed her sorrows to the world and didn't stop till her throat was dry and scratchy.

Finally she dug up the courage to get to her feet. There was a flash of golden light as she Shifted to her wolf form. She dashed in the direction the Lyoko warriors had run in and she didn't stop or look back.

"Jeremie?" she asked.

"Feather, are you okay? Did he...you know..." Jeremie replied.

"I'm okay...more or less. Where're the others?" she said.

"They're here. I'll bring you in," came the response.

"And Odd?" Feather prodded.

"...He's gonna lose a life. We've got him all bandaged up. You're gonna want to be here for him when he wakes up." said Jeremie sullenly.

Feather bit back a wail. "Is he gonna wake up?"

There was a pause. Then, "We don't know."

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'?" she snapped. "What could possibly have gone wrong-"

"He hit that rock really hard. It damaged his Ridge," Jeremie responded slowly.

Feather's heart leapt. The Ridge was a chunk of cartilage that formed an extention of the neck vertibrae in a Shifter—it was the part of a Shifter's body that controlled the powers, hormones and emotions that came with being a shapeshifter. It also gave each Shifter its own unique scent and its telepathy. In females it tended to heat up and glow a faint red when they were around a male they wanted to mate with, which became slightly embarrassing on occasion.

"Please tell me it isn't too bad," she murmured.

Jeremie replied, "Its slashed through the middle."

"Oh Gods," said Feather.

Just as Feather began to fade from Lyoko and be materialized, Riot appeared behind her and placed one hand on the back of her head and the other on her chin. He jerked her head upwards and back very suddenly. There was a sickening crunching of bones in Feather's neck before she dropped dead.

She hadn't even seen it coming.

"All the pieces are coming together," Riot said as he smiled evilly.


End file.
